The Mahāvihāra, or Great Monastery, was the
monastery founded by
Mahinda, who introduced Buddhism into
Sri Lanka in the 2
nd century BCE. The monastery was situated just beyond the southern wall of Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka. When the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien visited Sri Lanka in the 5
th century, there were 1500 monks in the Mahāvihāra. For many centuries it was a centre of religion, culture and learning. The interpretation of the
Pāḷi Tipiṭaka called
Theravāda Buddhism evolved in the Mahāvihāra from the 1
st century BCE onwards. In later centuries, monks of the Mahāvihāra tradition established Theravāda Buddhism in
Burma and
Thailand from where it later spread to
Cambodia and
Laos. The Mahāvihāra was abandoned after the capital of Sri Lanka was shifted to Polonnaruwa in the 9th century.